One of the most popular pastimes for Key West locals and visitors alike is exploring the amazing marine environment around the island. Key West is well-known as a great destination for enjoying the underwater sports of snorkeling, SNUBA, and SCUBA. If you are visiting Key West, I highly recommend that you take advantage of the chance to see what is happening under all that clear blue water via one or all of these fun and interesting activities.
While the very best coral reef snorkeling is found a few miles offshore from Key West proper, or at remote locations like the amazing Dry Tortugas, it is possible to have a great time underwater by snorkeling right from the shore in town. For beginners, snorkeling from shore is an ideal way to warm-up for a boat trip out to snorkel in the open water. For families, it is an easy way to let the kids have fun. And, for those who have been snorkeling offshore, loved it, and would like to get some more snorkel time in, heading out from the beach is a quick and convenient way to expand your Key West snorkeling experience. All you need are fins, mask, and snorkel – you can grab an hour or two of water time at your leisure each and every day you are in Key West if you wish.
A good option for shore-launch snorkeling is the Key West Marine Park. The Park is a protected area running along the south side of the island between the shoreward end of Duvall Street and the White Street Pier and extending from the beach out 600 feet. The Key West Marine Park was established through collaborative efforts by the Reef Relief Foundation and the City of Key West after growing concerns over the decline of near-shore water quality and overall health of the coral and other sea life around the island prompted grassroots preservation efforts beginning in the late 1980s. The City of Key West now maintains the park, and has also undertaken many improvements to the island’s sewer and storm drain infrastructure, as well as rebuilding the White Street Pier, as part of efforts to reduce the land-based sediment run-off and build-up that had been harming the marine environment and degrading water quality and visibility.
Public beach access to the 40-acre marine park is available at South Beach and Higgs Beach. Designated swimming and snorkeling areas are protected from boat and jet ski traffic by demarcation buoys, and the water is shallow and generally calm throughout the park. Except for the fishing area around the White Street Pier, the Marine Park is also a voluntary no harvest zone, which provides protection for fish and increases the amount of marine life that snorkelers may encounter in the area.
As with any near-shore shallow water, visibility in the marine park is easily affected by wind and water conditions. Clumps of seaweed and other flotsam may also wash up along the shore. However, though the park waters may not be as pristine as those in offshore areas, when conditions are right they will offer an interesting and exciting view into a world of seagrass meadows, small hard and soft corals, sponges, and many fish species. In particular, the waters off of Higgs Beach around the White Street Pier and the old sunken pier nearby are rich with life. You can expect to encounter Butterflyfish, Damselfish, Grunts, Hogfish, Parrotfish, Porcupine Pufferfish, Wrasse, and other species. Sea Urchins, Conchs, and Starfish will be found on the bottom among the seagrass beds, and you may even sight a Sea Turtle, Nurse Shark, or Spotted Eagle Ray.
As a veteran snorkeler of both salt and fresh waters in various parts of the world, I can promise that anytime you put a mask on and get underwater, you will encounter something new and interesting. Although it may not be the most far-flung and exotic dive site, the Key West Marine Park will offer rewards to snorkelers of every experience level. It’s nearshore waters are not only well worth exploring, but they are also so easily accessible that multiple visits would be highly recommended.
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Accessibility Statement
www.aircharterusa.com
May 12, 2024
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
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alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
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Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
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We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to